Blodgett Gardens closing its College Park location after 80 years in business

After more than 80 years in business, Blodgett Gardens (Website) is closing its College Park location by the middle of this month.

Blodgett Gardens co-owner Nick Francisco, whose grandfather began selling plants at the same location in 1936, told Bungalower that the nursery will close on June 15. A sign at the nursery on Edgewater Drive reads “Sale. Everything Goes.”

Francisco said that the internet and big-box stores have made it difficult for family-run nurseries like Blodgett Gardens to compete.

The nursery is holding a close-out sale on plants and gardening supplies with many items marked down 20 percent or more. Blodgett Gardens will hold an auction on June 18 for everything that doesn’t sell during the close-out sale.

Frank Blodgett bought the 3-acre property on Edgewater Drive, north of Par Street [GMap], in 1934. He and his wife Louise Blodgett began selling plants two years later. It is one of the oldest commercial growers in Orlando.

Francisco said that Blodgett Gardens will have a “retail presence” in Orlando selling “direct to customers,” but it will not be a brick-and-mortar store. He didn’t elaborate.

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